Happy Birthday Broons!
Friday 30 December 2005, BBC One Scotland, 9.00pm

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab, Happy Birthday Broons! celebrates the 70th birthday of Scotland’s most famous family, going behind-the-scenes to see how the comic strip is created with celebrities recalling their favourite moments of this national treasure.
Narrated by Ewan McGregor, this one-off programme charts the history of The Broons from its birth in 1936 in post-war Britain, revealing how the genius of artist Dudley D Watkins brought the family to life, through to the present day and the making of the annual’s anniversary edition.
From Tom Morton writing the scripts in the Shetlands, through to artist Peter Davidson drawing the comic in Glen Esk in North Angus, Tayside, and on to Dundee where the strip is set, printed and distributed throughout Scotland, Happy Birthday Broons! looks into the lives of maw, paw and their extended family, shedding light on their enduring appeal and timeless family values.
Using animated graphics of Broons scripts, viewers relive the highpoints of the nation’s favourite Glebe Street residents, revealing how The Broons family managed to reflect the domestic lives of their readers over the ever-changing decades.
DC Thomson’s executive David Donaldson exclusively opens up The Broons archive and there’s insights from international comic writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely who highlights the art of drawing The Broons.
Throughout the programme, celebrities including Chewin The Fat’s Ford Kiernan, singer songwriter Eddi Reader, actress Elaine C Smith, media mogul Muriel Gray, football pundit Tam Cowan and comedian Sanjeev Kohli, relive their fondest memories of the iconic Scots family.

Broons Bits & Bobs
· Rumour has it that RD Low, The Broons creator, modelled many of the characters on staff at DC Thomson in particular Paw Broon who is said to have had an uncanny resemblance to Thomson’s chief Glasgow editor, AC ‘Archie’ Brown. Not only did they share the same name, they had identical moustaches and hairstyle.
· Grandpaw Broon wasn’t part of the original family line-up – he joined maw, paw and the bairns three years later in 1939.
· During the war, authorities were persuaded into believing that The Broons artist Watkins was too vital an asset for the paper to lose, excluding him from any war service which took him away from Dundee.
· Glebe Street, The Broons address, was so-called for historic reasons. In 1936 most cities and towns had a church with an adjoining piece of land called a glebe and the street next to this land was called Glebe Street. By locating The Broons at this address meant readers could universally claim the family came from their town or city.
· The Broons appeared in colour for only two years (92-94) but reverted back to black and white due to overwhelming public demand for the traditional style.

Thanks to Julie.